Did the French far right use deadly terrorist attacks and fear tactics to win over their votes?

Eight years ago on July 14, 2016, crowds of thousands lined Nice’s beachfront promenade. Standing in eager anticipation, they had gathered to watch fireworks and celebrate Bastille Day – the national day of France. 

Within hours, 84 people were dead and hundreds injured after a lorry driver ploughed through the revellers.

It was a terrorist attack that had been months in the making.

The coordinated assault came after an ambush of stadiums, concert halls and restaurants in Paris in November 2015, including the Bataclan attack, which saw 90 killed at a Eagles of Death Metal gig.

Understandably, such horrific events left the country shaken to the core. However, as the days, weeks and months followed, a growing number began to use the attacks to justify some of the country’s harshest political standpoints. 

Since then, political parties of far right figureheads have skyrocketed in popularity. Marine Le Pen’s party was expected to gain a massive amount of seats in the National Assembly during last week’s election.

But France was offered a glimmer of hope after the right-wing National Rally (RN) party was defeated by the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP). Ahead of the vote, National Rally was on course to become the first far-right government in the country since the Second World War.

Here we take a look back at the events on that fateful day eight years ago and the worrying impact it is still having on France today.

What happened on July 14, 2016?

Still reeling from a string of terror attacks in Paris the previous November, 2016’s Bastille Day had extra importance for many French citizens. 

In Nice, a crowd of more than 30,000 people lined the Promenade des Anglais, a waterfront road which was shut off to traffic that day to accommodate the crowds. A large fireworks display was set to go off at 10pm.

Shortly after the fireworks finished at 10.30pm, a white cargo truck drove over police barricades and began hurtling down the pavement at 56mph, hitting dozens of pedestrians.

The driver was Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, a 31-year-old Tunisian man, who was shot dead by police after the rampage. His family said at the time: ‘He was not a Muslim, he was a s***.’

Along with the Paris attacks, these incidents led to a sharp rise in Islamophobia – something often seen in an area which has been subject to a terror attack. 

Research presented in UK parliament by a range of London School of Economics (LSE) professors in 2019 noted: ‘The data shows that, after the initial spike in Islamophobic hate crimes after a jihadi attack, crimes continued to increase over the next few days.’

It was even reflected in some French legislation, including the banning of the burqa and ‘burkini’, a swimming costume which usually leaves only women’s hands, feet and faces exposed, and from beaches in 2016. 

Terror attacks also galvanised political parties and leaders in France, including Marine le Pen, who leads the far-right National Rally party. 

After the terror attack in Nice, Ms le Pen posted on Facebook: ‘The war against the scourge of Islamist fundamentalism has not begun; it’s now urgent to declare it. 

‘To our shock and compassion, we must now add action, the necessary measures of prevention and control, and the most absolute determination to eradicate the scourge of Islamist fundamentalism.’

Have terror attacks lead to a spike in France’s far-right politics?

The far-right certainly uses tragic events such as the attacks in Nice to speak more about their policies on immigration, according to Tina Theallet, who works with the International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism.

Speaking to Metro, she said: ‘Immigration has always been a key theme for the far right in France. During the last legislative elections, immigration was a major topic in the debate.

‘We noticed that in the wording of these parties, immigration is said to be the cause of all the problems in French society.’

Terrorist attacks, such as the one in Nice in 2016, give the far-right material to use in their messaging to further spread fear, adds Ms Theallet. ‘It’s a political game,’ she explains. ‘They use the speeches to make comments on security and immigration, making those issues more important and more significant for people.’

But how does the world – not just France – tackle those using events like terror attacks to justify their own political agendas?

In a recent interview Spain’s socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez offered his advice, saying: ‘You always beat the far right by governing and bringing in progressive policies that, one by one, give the lie to all the fake news that it spreads.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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